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I am new to the forum, so please excuse my questions/comments as they most probably have already featured somewhere on the forum. I am also not sure who I should direct the conversation to?

I have not been diagnosed with Tinnitus, but I am sure that I have the condition. I have had a constant ringing in my ears over the past 4- 5 years, every day. This ringing is unbearable most of the days and I am becoming an unpleasant person to live with.

I am always irritated and the weird issue is that I hear everything 10 x louder than what I should. I can hear everyone eating as if they are sitting really close to me, so I started wearing earphones during dinner. Furthermore, when the dogs bark, it sounds as if someone is hitting me on my ear with a cupped hand (if that makes sense).

The ringing is loudest when everything goes quiet especially when I go to bed. Currently I make use of sleeping tablets to be able to sleep at night. Previously I used soft natural sounds on my i-pad, which helped a bit. The sounds have however become louder and I have to set my tablet too loud such that my wife cannot sleep. The ringing sound is there when I go to bed and when I wake up in the mornings. The only time I hear it at a lower frequency is when the daily activities starts (Background noise).

I am so frustrated at the moment and I do not really know what to do. All I know is that I will have to do something as I am becoming increasingly irritated and unpleasant to live with.

It is also as though no-one understands what I am going through and I can see they think I am over-reacting.

I am sorry to hear of your struggles, especially since it has been for nearly four years now. I have only had T for two months and one day (but who's counting?) and I struggle with it, so I can only imagine what you are going through.

Can I ask, do you know what caused your ringing? When it had started were you taking any medication? Were you very stressed? Had you been exposed to loud noise? Do you have any hearing loss? Because of the increased sensitivity to your ear I wonder whether you have Hyperacusis? That is when certain sounds or painful or uncomfortable. If might not be the same thing because it makes it louder, I don't know whether you find it painful or not.

Have you seen a doctor about this, or more importantly, a ENT/audiologist? If not I suggest you go to one ASAP. If nothing else hopefully they will be able to give you something to help you cope.

Thank you for your reply and suggestions. I did not have any physical cause that resulted in this experience. I have been under severe stress for a long period now, and this could be the route cause of the problem. I have not been exposed to any loud noise as such, I also have no hearing loss. I also suspect that it could be Hyperacusis and I have been investigating it since yesterday. The symptoms are actually Scaringly close to what I am experiencing. I am currently engaging with an Audiologist and will revert back as soon as I have had my appointment.

I have re-convened the backgrounds sounds that I downloaded previously on my I-Pad. This somehow is helping a bit and I had a great nights sleep last night.

The other problem I am sitting with is Sleep Apnea and I make use of a Bi-Pap machine to assist my breathing at night. Last night was one of the first nights that I could actually sleep through the night, so I had a great day today.

That's great news about sleeping! Getting a good night's sleep is the best way to help us deal with T. T suffers know a lot about what it is like to deal with lack of sleep, but it's a good idea to use maskers. They helped me a few nights when I struggled.

To me it does sound like you have H (Hyperacusis) but I am no expert. There is also a forum on this site about H if you want to ask advice on there. I think I had a little bit of it, or at least noise sensitivity, but it did not last long and very rarely reacted.

If you think your T was caused by stress, have you thought about going to a therapist to help deal with it? They can help you deal with stress and teach you ways of coping. It sounds like you have had a hard few years, so it might be a good idea.

I hope that going to the audiologist helps. Please do report back and let us know how you are doing.

Hi @citigirl13, thanks again for your reply. I will definitely revert back after my appointment. I have been considering a therapist over the last few months, but I have been postponing it. I think it might be a good idea to put some serious thought into this as well.